Ex-pat family life with crochet, arts & crafts thrown in.

Summer Craft Challenge 2017 (week 3)

Week three of the Summer Craft Challenge already? Times certainly flies when you’re having fun!

I set myself the challenge of doing something crafty every day throughout July and August in a bid to retain my sanity during the very long Gibraltarian school summer holidays. Each day I post a crafty photo to Instagram with the tag #summercraftchallenge2017 if you fancy joining me just tag your pictures too.

Day 15: Saturday 15th July

I thought my embryonic string bag, somehow echoed the shape of the huge Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank when we visited last Saturday. My boys were mortified when I stopped to take this picture though. Poor boys and their crazy Mum!!

Day 16 : Sunday 16th July

A day-long trip to Wales to visit relatives meant not much time for crochet until late on… a wonderful day though, none-the-less 😊.

Day 17 : Monday 17th July

The weather was glorious, so I indulged in a little al fresco hooky in the back garden. You just can’t beat an English garden in the summertime can you?

Day 18 : Tuesday 18th July

And finally…. it’s finished. Not the largest string bag in the world but I’m rather pleased with it.

If you would like to have a go making one yourself, you can find the pattern on Ravelry here. I added an extra row or two around the top and handles.

Day 19 : Wednesday 19th July

Wednesday and Thursday were very busy days. We are selling our old house in West Yorkshire and Wednesday was the day the loft needed to be emptied. The day was spent driving across the Pennines, sorting the house and driving back. There was a tiny window of Crochet opportunity during bath time for the Little Postcards.

Day 20 : Thursday 20th July

A scarf for a Little Postcard is underway. My evening treat after a day sifting through umpteen boxes of long forgotten treasures from our old loft.

Memories of very old crochet

One of the treasures was this crochet cardigan I made 20 years ago. A good friend of mine had the most gorgeous cardigan when we were at university, it was made of many little granny squares crocheted in fine cotton or silk. I was so enamoured with her’s that with her permission I had a go at making my own.

Unfortunately, this was my first major foray into crochet and I was unaware of the fact that crocheting with DK yarn would lead to a far chunkier finished version compared to my friend’s. It’s blanket-like coat appearance meant it was consigned to a cupboard rather than my wardrobe. Obviously the hours of Crochet which had gone into it meant I didn’t have the heart to get rid of it. It will return to Gibraltar with me to be worn in our drafty lounge on a winter’s evening.

Day 21 : Friday 21st July

Today, we caught the train down South to visit some family friends. Europa the Unicorn came too along with my crochet.

If you fancy joining in with your own summer craft challenge, why not take photos each day and post them on Instagram with the hashtag #summercraftchallenge2017 ?